The Sociological Model of Voting Behavior

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Transcript of The Sociological Model of Voting Behavior

Paige Kapus & Patrick Zurn The Sociological Model of Voting Behavior What is the Sociological Model? How does this indicate voting choice? The model of demographics that predicts how an individual will cast their vote. This is also known as the Columbia model. It's believed that the social class was the most accurate indicator of likely voting intention Age Different characteristics of this model Often identified as School of Columbia, it focuses on the influences of social factors and voting. Research was first conducted in 1944 at Ohio Stateused a questionnaire to investigate the study of aU.S. presidential election that cut away from the methodological approach that previously characterized the voting behavior. The research was to study the effects of exposure to the media,(knowing how voters decide and how media factors in), and to test a new methodology of successive interviews with a panel of subjects anda control group. It characterized thesupporters of the two main political parties in the U.S. using 600 subjects who were interviewed 7 times over the 7 months of campaigning. They then identified the voters who changed their position during the campaign period, in comparison to those who didn't change. The History of the Columbia Model The main criticisms of the sociological model are:1. Its inability to explain partisan de-alignment.2. The over emphasis on the utility of social class as an indicator of voting behavior.3. A failure to appreciate the significance of individual policy preferences and assessment of government performance on voting. Criticisms This model is saying that voting choice is affected based off that person's personality and how the media influenced that person. Gender Region Race Religion Occupational Status Urban/Rural Socioeconomic status